United Bank is a long time client of Pikewood Creative, and is the main sponsor of West Virginia University athletics. To kick off the 2010 WVU football season, Pikewood produced a TV commercial titled “Anticipation.” The spot aired in West Virginia at the beginning of the football season and became popular on social media outlets such as YouTube, where it has received over 16,000 views.

For the creative excellence demonstrated in the commercial, Dan Lohmann – Executive Producer at Pikewood Creative, was presented with an Emmy® by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) in the Commercial category. The Ohio Valley Emmy® Chapter covers thirteen markets in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. The judging is composed of a rigorous process where peers, from other markets around the nation, judge each piece according to guidelines established by Emmy® Awards staff.

Why is an award, such as an Emmy®, so important?
Validation and recognition by a group of peers.

In the marketing/advertising and video production business, the main goals are to communicate and be memorable. It’s a highly competitive industry where many creative professionals work hard to improve the business of their clients. Potential customers are constantly bombarded with all forms of visual advertising; from print, to web ads, to TV commercials. Their attention spans are becoming shorter, expectations are higher, and leaving an impression on viewers becomes more difficult. And so, the effectiveness of creative video production can be difficult to measure. That’s why it’s important to enter into the realm of competition and to let creative professionals from other markets evaluate your work. It’s a chance to obtain the constructive feedback needed to validate the video production methods used to produce a particular piece. In the case of United Bank’s “Anticipation,” the concept was to show raw, unscripted footage of WVU football players getting ready for the upcoming season.

Being recognized by peers from all over the nation is important, not only for the client, but for business growth, and the creative professional as well. Winning an Emmy® means that your production level is the best of the best. It says that your work is effective and that the creative professional, and the client, are striving to achieve excellence with the products and services they provide. It opens doors to new opportunities and raises the bar in competitive markets throughout the United States.

The prestigious and coveted Emmy® Award is a major accomplishment for any television and video production professional and it is a strong validation that the pursuit of perfection is alive and well at Pikewood Creative.

About Dan Lohmann

Dan Lohmann is the Executive Producer at Pikewood Creative. He is a graduate of Bethany College and West Virginia University. His career has included video production work for West Virginia University and the Mountaineer Sports Network (MSN), the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the Olympic Games: Salt Lake, Torino, Athens, Beijing, and Vancouver.

In his spare time, Dan enjoys spending time with his two children, Ben and Anna, and his wife Bethany. He also likes to play a little hockey on occasion.

About the Commercial

The award winning television commercial was designed to capture the essence of the anticipation that fans feel in the month leading up to the college football season – specifically the West Virginia University football season. Dan Lohmann came up with the concept of shooting really raw, unscripted footage for this spot.